Gaza
\nIsrael released 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees early Monday, concluding the first, critical steps in a long-awaited ceasefire that included the return of three Israeli hostages and a halt to airstrikes on Gaza.
\nThousands of displaced Palestinians in parts of the besieged enclave began to return to their bombed-out neighborhoods and homes, some searching for the bodies of relatives.
\nThe first day of the truce also brought a surge of desperately needed humanitarian aid, with more than 630 trucks entering Gaza, according to U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher.
\nThe three female hostages \u2014 captured during Hamas\u2019s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel \u2014 were reunited with their families and determined to be in \u201ca good state.\u201d
\nThirty other hostages, most of whom are presumed to be alive, are slated to be gradually freed in releases every seven days as part of the first phase of the deal lasting 42 days.
\nIn the Israeli-occupied West Bank, large crowds gathered in Beitunia to welcome freed Palestinian prisoners and detainees, all of them women or teenagers.
\nProminent political activist Khalida Jarrar was among those freed, photos from news agencies showed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Gaza Israel released 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees early Monday, concluding the first, critical steps in a long-awaited ceasefire that included the return of three Israeli hostages and a halt to airstrikes on Gaza. Thousands of displaced Palestinians in parts of the besieged enclave began to return to their bombed-out neighborhoods and homes, some searching […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":456717,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-456687","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n